Charlie Becomes A Daddy
by apishcan18
Summary: Seriously? I need a summary? The title says it all. Fourth in Charlie Series. Charlie/ OC


**Disclaimer**: I don't own Numbers or it's characters. I am not making any money from this. I do however lay claim to Shaylee, Stacy, Mark, Michelle, Micheal, Robert, Hailey and any other OC's I might have forgotten.

I started this little series the same year I started college. How fitting that I finally finish it the same year I finish college. Wow. That's just a little sad.

Big thanks to **Cutter12** for expressing interest in this story and giving me that last bit of motivation to finish it. Another thanks goes out to my sisters for reading it and giving it a thumbs up (cause what are sisters for other wise?). Well on with the story!

**Charlie Becomes A Daddy**

I leaned against the doorway, watching my husband of two years. Dr. Charles Eppes was hard at work at some math problem. He hadn't gotten around to explaining this one to me yet so I only understood half of what was written on the chalkboards. Charlie's dark hair was covered in a dusting of white chalk; headphones covered his ears, blocking out any ambient noises that might distract him, like me entering the garage.

Barking came from the front yard. Our dog, Stormy, was tied up to a tree in the front yard while some people Charlie had found cleaned out the koi pond. A disturbing number of them had died lately and a website suggested cleaning out the pond to see if it was something in the water.

Smiling, I shifted away from the doorframe and headed to see what Stormy was barking about.

It was Alan Eppes, Charlie's father and my father-in-law.

"Hello, Alan," I said, giving the older man a hug.

"Good afternoon, Shay. What are you doing here? I thought you and Don were working on some big case," Alan questioned.

I shrugged. "Don's taking care of it. Beside's my team would let me know if anything important was going on."

Alan seemed to buy my thin excuse. There was no way I was telling him that his eldest son, Don, had sent me home after I puked in the conference room. I felt fine now but earlier my stomach wouldn't settle down. Alan would have immediately assumed I was pregnant. He wanted grandchildren so bad and so far Charlie was the only one of his two sons to get married. Alan had pinned his hopes on Charlie and I.

"Are you here to see Charlie?" I asked.

Alan nodded.

"He's in the garage, working on a math problem. Disturb at your own risk," I told the older man with a wry smile.

* * *

I leaned against the wall, the world spinning around me. What was wrong with me? I'd been walking to Don's office when suddenly the world tilted and swayed.

Co-workers gave me a strange look as they walked past. I wished I was invisible for a moment.

Then a voice called out, "Shay!" It was Don.

He rushed up and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, letting me lean on him. "Shay, are you OK? Have you seen a doctor? First your little incident the other day and now this," Don rattled off as we slowly walked to his office.

I groaned, my vision blurred for a moment. Something was definitely wrong.

* * *

I picked at my dinner. I couldn't get the incident earlier today out of my head. What could be wrong with me? I didn't want to worry Charlie. I had already made a doctors appointment for tomorrow. Megan Fleinhardt had agreed to take me when I asked her. I was worried and that was distracting me.

Charlie was grading papers while eating. Usually I would have made him stop that when dinner started but today I preferred to have him focused on something other then me. I didn't want him asking questions before I had answers.

Realizing I wasn't going to eat anything, I picked up my plate and went to the kitchen. After disposing of my uneaten food, I headed outside to play with Stormy. The black mutt happily bounded over to me with a bark.

"Hey, honey," I cooed, settling down at the edge of the back deck. Stormy licked at my chin, catching me by surprise.

I giggled. "You are just what I need Stormy," I said.

I heard the phone ringing inside the house. I sighed. "Sorry Stormy, I'll be right back," I told the dog.

Stormy tried to follow me inside anyway.

"No honey. You have to stay here," I said as I shut the door.

Charlie had already answered the phone by the time I made it there.

"She just walked in Don," Charlie said as I walked out of the kitchen. "OK. Thanks. Here's Shay," Charlie handed me the phone before going back to his grading.

"Hey Don," I greeted my brother-in-law as I started to walk back outside.

"When was the last time you talked to Michelle?" Don asked.

I stopped. Michelle? I tried to remember the last time I had talked to my friend. It had been a couple days at least. Michelle was busy getting ready for the opening of her third restaurant. It was extra stressful for her as she was needed in Houston, her primary residence and my former home, and the new restaurant was located in New York.

"Sorry, Don. I haven't talked to her lately. I know she's really busy with the opening coming up," I said.

Don sighed. "I just can't get a hold of her. I remember her saying something about coming to LA to scout out a location for a possible new restaurant. And I haven't talked to her all week."

I fought back a grin. Don liked her.

"Keep trying Don. You'll get though eventually," I advised him.

"I will. Now have you talked to Charlie about the problems you've been having?" Don switched gears so fast it made my head spin for a moment.

"Problems, Don?" I said, giving myself a moment to collect my wits around me.

"You know what I'm talking about Shay. Don't dodge the question."

I glanced over my shoulder to make sure Charlie hadn't followed me to the backyard. "Don't say anything to him, Don. I'll tell him when there's something to tell," I hissed. "I've got a doctors appointment tomorrow. I'll tell him after that."

"OK Shay. But I just don't think this is something you should be going through alone."

"I'm not. I'll tell him, I promise."

"I trust you. I'll see you tomorrow Shay."

"Bye, Don."

* * *

"Congratulations Mrs. Eppes. You're pregnant," the doctor announced.

I felt my jaw drop. I couldn't say anything for a long moment. Pregnant? I was having a baby? I definitely needed time to get used to that idea.

"Um, how far along am I?" I managed to ask.

It wasn't like Charlie and I had been actively trying to get pregnant. We'd decided that when it happened, it happened.

"About 8 weeks," the doctor told me.

I made it through the rest of the appointment, scheduled another one and went back to the office with Megan, all in a cloud of shock.

I shouldn't have been surprised to find that Don had created an excuse to get Charlie to the FBI building. But I was. Stupid brother-in-law.

"Charlie, what are you doing here?" I asked lamely.

"Don had some questions on a case. He mentioned you and Megan went out for a late lunch," Charlie replied.

Megan had already made herself scarce, as had everyone else. There was no getting around this. I had to tell Charlie.

Mentally cursing Don, I guided Charlie over to my desk.

"You should sit down," I said.

Charlie gave me a strange look but sat down in my chair.

I perched on the edge of my desk, feeling like I was going to barf. "Charlie, Megan and I weren't out for a late lunch. She agreed to drive me to a doctors appointment I made yesterday. I, um, haven't been feeling so good the last couple days."

Charlie was leaning towards me, looking very worried and tense. "Why didn't you tell me?" Charlie's tone was accusatory.

"I didn't want to worry you." Guilt was starting to set in. I pressed on before Charlie could say something to make me feel even guiltier. "Charlie, the doctor told me why I haven't been feeling so good."

Telling my husband that we were going to have a baby should have been the most exciting news a woman had to share. But I wasn't feeling excited. All I could feel was dread and worry. And I didn't know why.

"Shay, what did the doctor say?" Charlie asked, taking my hand in his to reassure me.

"In about seven months or so, the Eppes family will be gaining a new addition. We're going to be parents, Charlie. I'm pregnant."

* * *

"Michael, don't you dare," I warned, leaning forward to glare at Agent Michael Sharp, one of my team.

He flashed me a grin. "I wouldn't dream of doing anything like that to you, Special Agent Eppes," he said sweetly.

Don, sitting across from me, laughed. "Yeah, right."

"Michael, you need become a better liar," Agent Robert Baker informed his partner.

Michael made a face at him.

I looked at Charlie and made a upwards gesture. He got the message and stood up.

Everyone turned to look at him when he cleared his throat. "Ummm, Shay and I have an announcement to make," he started.

I stood up and took a step closer to him. Charlie placed an arm around my waist.

I looked out over the gathering of our friends and family, Alan, Don, Larry, Don's team, my team, Michelle, Stacy and her husband, Mark, and for the first time felt at peace with the whole baby idea. Charlie had been ecstatic when I told him. He had wanted to run and shout the news to the world. I asked that we only make one announcement, at least to everyone living in the area (Michelle, Stacy and Mark flew in from Houston when I mentioned the big gathering to them). It had taken some work to get everyone here but now the time was upon us to break the news.

"As our family and friends, we wanted you to be the first to know," Charlie continued his little speech. He reached over and placed his left hand on my stomach. "We're having a baby."

7 Months Later

I eased into a dinning room chair, feeling more off balance as the days went by. I felt like a whale I was so big.

"Shay, you doing ok?" Stacy, one of my best friends, asked me from the kitchen.

Stacy and Michelle had been taking turns staying with Charlie and I for the last month and racking up their frequent flier miles in the process. Their presence was enough to make Charlie feel secure enough to not take a sabbatical for a semester.

"I'm doing great Stace. As well as a nine months pregnant woman can get," I answered.

Stacy appeared in the door, her blond hair held up by a pair of pencils and her blue eyes concerned. "You sure?" she probed.

I sighed. "Yes, Stacy, I'm sure."

"You'll let me know if there's any contractions? Water breaking? You know, going into labor related stuff."

"I plan on having my baby in a hospital. Home birth is not my thing. I'll let you know if something happens."

"OK. So what names have you and Charles thought up recently?"

"We've finally sort of settled on some names. For a boy we're going with Kanaan Allen. Alexander Humphrey got mocked by multiple people, Don included. For a girl it's definitely going to be Hailey Margaret."

"I really liked Stacy Michelle. But Hailey Margaret is nice too."

I laughed, knowing she was going to say that. "What about the boys names?" I inquired.

"Alexander Humphrey is weird. But so is Kanaan Allen. I kinda like Alexander Humphrey though."

"You are the weird one, Stace."

"I know."

* * *

I woke up to a wetness between my legs. My water had broke.

"Charlie!" I cried, sitting up.

My husband continued to sleep.

"Charlie, wake up!" I hollered.

He jerked awake. "Shay?"

"I think you need to drive me to the hospital. The baby's on it's way," I explained, calmer now that my husband was awake.

"The baby's coming?" Charlie sounded confused.

"Yes, honey. We're having a baby tonight," I said, climbing out of bed and pulling open drawers to retrieve dry clothes to change into.

"Not time yet," Charlie still sounded confused.

I turned to look at him, almost feeling sorry for my husband. "Charlie, trust me. This baby's coming."

"If you're sure." He dragged himself out of bed and found a change of clothes.

Once he was dressed, I sent him to wake Stacy up, if she wasn't already, while I prepared for a hospital stay. I had to stop a few times to wait out contractions that didn't really hurt so much as they were annoying. I had no doubt that would change soon.

"Shay?" Stacy appeared in the doorway, Charlie behind her. "You doing ok?"

"Just fine, Stace," I assured her. "But I would like to get to the hospital soon."

"I understand. You need any help with anything?" Stacy moved to the side so Charlie could enter the room.

I paused and surveyed the bedroom, searching for anything I might have forgotten. "Nope. I'm ready to go."

* * *

"Oh my gosh, would you look at her? She's gorgeous," Megan cooed over my new baby daughter the next afternoon. She turned to Charlie and I and smiled. "You two did good."

I laughed, exhaustion pulling at me but wanting to stay awake anyway.

Larry peered into the crib where Hailey Margaret Epps slept. "She appears to have Shaylee's nose," he commented.

Alan chuckled while Don made a face. There was a running argument between the two of them about who's nose Hailey had inherited. Alan thought she had mine while Don had decided it was more like his brothers.

"She's got Charlie's hair coloring," I was quick to point out.

"That she does," Larry nodded.

Visiting hours ended a few hours later, after a parade of people had come to see Hailey and congratulate Charlie and I. Alan and Don were the last to leave.

"I'll be back tomorrow," Alan promised.

Don promised to try to come by to see us sometime tomorrow as well.

"Bye," I called out after them.

With their departure, it was once again just Charlie, Hailey and I.

"Bring her over here, please Charlie," I requested.

My husband rose and gently lifted our baby from the crib. I settled her in my arms after scooting over in the bed to make room for Charlie to sit beside me.

"You know Megan's right?" I said softly, looking from Hailey to Charlie.

He was watching her sleep. He switched his gaze to me. "Right about what?" he asked.

"We did do good." My gaze fell back to Hailey. "I wouldn't trade her for anything."

Charlie wrapped an arm around me. "Yep. She's perfect." He paused. "She does have your nose."

"Better then having yours."

"Hey!"

The End

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